A rationale for minimizing distortion in personality questionnaire keys

A rationale and a procedure for constructing questionnaire keys so as to minimize the effect of distortion or faking by the respondents is developed. This rationale is based on the supposition that suppressor items can be identified to reduce distortion in, and thus add to, the validity of questionnaire keys. The procedure is designed primarily for application to the construction of forced choice items.The results of an empirical test of the efficicacy of the forced choice pairing procedure developed as a consequence of this rationale are presented. A key based on forced choice pairs developed by this procedure gave a validity of .33; a second key based on forced choice pairs developed by more conventional procedures gave a validity of .23.The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not to be construed as reflecting official Department of the Army policy. The rationale presented herein was developed and used in an Army research program concerned with the selection of ROTC cadets. In substance, the content of this paper is contained in PRS Report 868,A rationale for minimizing distortion in personality questionnaire keys.